


A Familiar Face

by bowtiesandboatshoes



Series: Not Just the Alcohol [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Dalton Academy, Gen, warblers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 02:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11773770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowtiesandboatshoes/pseuds/bowtiesandboatshoes
Summary: Even though the background character was never named at McKinley, we saw Dominic Barnes on Glee before he joined the Warblers as Trent. My head canon says of course it's him, but why did he leave McKinley? Here's a very brief answer, set just after Kurt transfers to Dalton.Canon-compliant one-shot that also works as part of the Not Just the Alcohol verse, where it would fit into chapter 1, even though I didn't think to write it at the time.





	A Familiar Face

Kurt looked around at the room full of guys he'd just been introduced to after his first practice with the Warblers. One boy in particular looked familiar but Kurt couldn’t quite place why.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asked Trent, a round-faced boy with a cheerful disposition.

“You transferred from McKinley, right? I used to go there. I think I remember seeing you around with the glee club last year.”

“Oh, that must be it,” Kurt replied. “But, if you sing, why weren't you in glee? We were always looking for new members. Especially guys who could actually sing.”

“Well, I guess you could call it self-preservation. I was already the fat kid, and I was starting to realize I was gay, even though I wasn't out yet. I was enough of a target for the jocks without joining glee too. I saw the slushies you guys took in the halls.”

“Mm…” Kurt murmured as he nodded thoughtfully. “I can understand that. So is that why you transferred? To avoid bullying?” Kurt wondered how much Trent’s story paralleled his own.

“No, not really. I never came out at McKinley, so things really never got too bad. I'd get comments on my weight now and then. Though that Coach Sylvester was probably worse than any of the other kids.”

Kurt gave a wry smile and nodded in agreement. Coach Sue was awful. “So why did you leave then?”

“My mom. She's an English teacher and she got a job here. Free tuition was one of the perks. It was pretty much a no-brainer. I knew I could feel safe coming out here too, so I guess maybe that was part of it, but it wasn't the main reason. If my mom wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t be either, for better or for worse.”

“So Dalton, it’s been good for you?” Kurt asked. He was still a little bit wary that Dalton could really be the idyllic haven it seemed like on the surface.

“You mean being out? Yeah, it has. I know I’ve only been here a few months, but it definitely isn’t McKinley, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I would have come out at school if I was still there. But here it’s really not a big deal. Especially with these guys,” Trent gestured around to the other Warblers who were dispersing after rehearsal.

Kurt eyed Trent, still trying to absorb the idea that being gay could be such a non-issue. “Thanks, Trent,” he said warmly. “I’ll see you around?”

“Of course,” Trent replied. “You know where to find me.”

Kurt grabbed his bag and left the rehearsal room heading back to his dorm feeling more and more like things really would be okay here at Dalton. He hated that he’d been forced to leave McKinley, but just maybe he had finally found the place where he could be himself.


End file.
